Overheard in Detroit: Gossip from the BMW stand

Here are the best whispers from the BMW booth in Detroit.

Senior Editor Jason Cammisa has a superhuman ability to pull fantastic details from the ambience of an auto show. At the BMW booth, he uncovered some juicy tidbits that no enthusiast should miss. - Ed

M3/M4: Sloppy drivers need not apply

"The M3/M4 won't tolerate sloppy throttle inputs. It's without a doubt the highest-performance road car M has built, but it also requires a LOT of talent to drive ... at least BMW has a network of driver's schools to help there, starting with the teen driving program up through the BMW CCA race schools."

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- A BMW employee who's driven the new M3

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An upside to the way the 3 Series GT looks

"This is better than the 5 Series GT. And I loved that car! It was the best car for people who paid high insurance premiums. It reduced their insurance because it had been pre-crashed. Looked like someone took a beautiful 5 Series Sedan and backed it into a wall."

- An anonymous gentleman

How is the M235i like a snowmobile?

"Oh, sure, we can put xDrive in the M235i."

- A sneaky BMW exec

Cammisa says: "Take that to mean BMW will be making an all-wheel-drive M235i. The M235i xDrive will make for a quick snowmobile."

"Chris Cantle"

The latest fad diet for M Division

"No, there is a real weight savings on the new M3, even for the US market. It's going to be somewhere between 150 and 200 lbs lighter than the E9x M3. And this is the first generational weight reduction on an M product. Ever."

- A BMW NA employee (who definitely knows)

"Chris Cantle"

Who says (turbo) size doesn't matter?

"The M3's turbos are actually smaller than the turbos in the N54HP—the 1 Series M Coupe engine."

- A BMW North America employee who knows, but wouldn't swear his life on it

"James Bradbury"

Some sorry excuses about the M7 that we want built

"I know, I know. But actually, the X5M's chassis was stiffer than any vehicle BMW has ever made. It was stiffer than the E30 M3 DTM with the chrome moly roll cage in it."

- A BMW exec who was defending the choice for M making the X5M but not an M7

Cammisa says: "And then he made some excuse about the driving position being at the center of gravity ... or something [laughs]."